Oliver Sacks

Tales of Music and the Brain

Musicophilia

Nelson Zagalo

a minha análise: http://virtual-illusion.blogspot.pt/2...

Ken Yuen

Kind of interesting. I'm a big fan of Oliver Sacks, but found this one a bit difficult to get through. I guess stories about people who music-related neural problems can only go so far. The stories get more interesting when they involve other neurological issues like amnesia and other issues. 

I have to admit that I kind of skipped the parts that didn't interest me and only skimmed those stories, so maybe I missed out on the real good stuff.

Nadine 

This has recently been my "go to sleep" audiobook as I've read it a few times and find it very soothing to listen to - and also to remember just how much I have to be grateful for being relatively "neurotypical"
I can never get enough of Oliver Sacks and his insights and experience.

Manoek Lambregts

Sacks beschrijft hoe diepgeworteld muziek in de mens zit en wat voor bijzondere dingen muziek kan doen bij bijvoorbeeld dementie, parkinson, tourette, blindheid maar ook hoe mensen door een ongeluk ontzettend muzikaal worden of muziek niet meer dan ongecontroleerde herrie horen. Ook behandelt hij (voor mij) minder bekende onderwerpen zoals synesthesie, fantoomvingers bij een pianst of dystonie bij muzikanten. De wonderen van muziek, uitgelegd aan de hand van bijzondere anekdotes, en waar ze gebeuren in het brein. Dat laatste was erg lastig te begrijpen, boven mijn niveau.

With his trademark compassion and erudition, Oliver Sacks, whom The New York Times has called "the poet Laureate of medicine," explores the place music occupies in the brain and how it affects the human condition. In Musicophilia, he examines the powers of music through the individual experiences of patients, musicians, and everyday people. Among them a surgeon who is struck by lightning and suddenly becomes obsessed with Chopin; people with "amusia," to whom a symphony sounds like the clattering of pots and pans; and a man whose memory spans only seven seconds - for everything but music. Dr. Sacks describes how music can animate people with Parkinson's disease who cannot otherwise move, give words to stroke patients who cannot otherwise speak, and calm and organize people who are deeply disoriented by Alzheimer's or schizophrenia.

Music can be inspiring, moving us to the heights or depths of emotion - and it can also be our best medicine. In Musicophilia Oliver Sacks tells us why. (back cover)

John Balek

Sacks's Musicophilia is an indepth record of how music and sound influences neurology and psychology. There are many subjects covered in first hand accounts recollected by Sacks as many stories come from his patients.

My biggest issue is that there are so many subjects covered that the book feels unwieldy in its objective. With so many topics covered it can be hard to really process everything discussed. Each subject is also varied in how in depth it gets. some chapters go into great detail while others are just a few pages. 

Sacks also relies heavily on these patient accounts for content for this book. By jumping around from story to story the process of reading this book can feel spastic. The focus on these recollections also leaves a lot to be desired with the actual scientific explanations for some of these phenomenons. While the book covered a lot of subjects I wish it gave more answers, or at least hypotheses.

Overall Musicophilia did direct my attention towards a lot of different topics that I hadn't thought of before. It has influenced how I think about music and sound and how that can vary compared to others. For this reason I would still recommend this book to any musicians or devoted fans of music.

Carla Schwarze

With an introduction by neuroscientist Daniel GlaserThe late Oliver Sacks' compassionate tales of people struggling to adapt to different neurological conditions have fundamentally changed the way we think of our own minds.Musicophilia is no different. In this breathtaking work, Sacks examines the powers of music through the individual experiences of patients, musicians and everyday people - those struck by affliction, unusual talent and even, in one case, by lightning - to show not only that music occupies more areas of our brain than language does, but also that it can torment, calm, organize and heal.Always wise and compellingly readable, these stories alter our conception of who we are and how we function, and show us an essential part of what it is to be human.

Picador Classic

Cormac

Teddy Calavera

Claire Matthews 

Daniel Kilby

Gabriel Ayuso

Joana Sá 

Matthew Royal

Morgan Holland

Tonia Aho

Laura

Keith Lang

Jordi Enric

Cal Desmond‐Pearson

Diane Calello

Todd Luallen

Kate Sigrist

Okan

With the same trademark compassion and erudition he brought to The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, Oliver Sacks explores the place music occupies in the brain and how it affects the human condition. In Musicophilia, he shows us a variety of what he calls “musical misalignments.” Among them: a man struck by lightning who suddenly desires to become a pianist at the age of forty-two; an entire group of children with Williams syndrome, who are hypermusical from birth; people with “amusia,” to whom a symphony sounds like the clattering of pots and pans; and a man whose memory spans only seven seconds-for everything but music. Illuminating, inspiring, and utterly unforgettable, Musicophilia is Oliver Sacks’ latest masterpiece.

Source: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/159607/musicophilia-by-oliver-sacks/9780307267917/

Musicophilia Tales of Music and the Brain

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